- Girls visited the hospital 2,032 times during early adolescence.
- This was up from 35% the previous year.Obesity may be a factor
A record number of young girls are entering puberty prematurely, some as young as four, with experts blaming obesity as a major factor.
The number of girls’ hospital visits for “precocious puberty” rose to 2,032 last year from 1,510, according to new data.
NHS Digital hospital data shows 79 of these children have not even reached their fifth birthday.
Experts say there is a “clear link” between obesity and premature onset of puberty, so the 35% increase may be due to obesity.
The study found that COVID-19 lockdowns were a potential trigger, as children began to gain weight as they stayed home less frequently and spent more time on the computer, an Italian medical study found. This follows.
Dr Tabatha Randell, chair of the British Endocrinology and Diabetes Society, told Express:
“Maturity at an early age can be very difficult for children who are often unprepared for the physical changes that accompany puberty.”
The average age at which girls begin puberty is 11 years, but it usually begins at any point between the ages of 8 and 13.
Early puberty is defined as when girls show signs of puberty, such as breast development and the onset of puberty, before the age of eight.
Precocious puberty can be caused by genetic factors, brain problems such as tumors, ovarian or thyroid problems.
It can be treated by targeting the underlying cause or delaying onset by initiating medications that control hormone levels.
The number of boys who hit puberty early was much smaller – only 1 in 9 cases.
A survey conducted by NHS Digital and the National Child Measurement Program in 2021 found that obesity rates among schoolchildren showed the biggest rise since records began.
The study found that obesity rates among 4- and 5-year-olds in reception classes rose from 9.9% in 2019-20 to 14.4% in 2020-21.
Among all children, 27.7% of sixth graders were overweight or obese, compared to 40.9% of sixth graders.
Obesity rates were higher among boys than girls in both age groups.
Among children of receptive age, 14.8% of boys were obese compared to 14.1% of girls.
Among sixth grade students, 29.2 percent of boys were obese compared to 21.7 percent of girls.
Dr Mohammad Magni, who led the Italian study at the University of Genoa and Italy’s Giannina Gaslini Institute, said: “Stress, social isolation, increased conflict between parents, economic status and use of hand and surface disinfectants This increase is having an impact.” More interesting hypotheses may emerge as to why early puberty is on the rise among young people.
“There is an interesting evolutionary hypothesis that when girls experience high levels of stress, they menstruate earlier in order to reproduce and protect the future of the species.”
Obesity rates are on the rise, and children generally enter puberty earlier than before because too much fat can disrupt the hormones that determine when a child becomes a teenager.
The first sign of puberty in girls is usually the development of breasts, followed by menarche and the growth of hair in areas where it wasn’t there before, such as the armpits and genitals. Acne and body odor may also occur.